Just a small update: it was reported earlier that Mao was practicing 3F-3L and 3L-3L. Actually, it was 3F-3L and 3F-3T. It was not reported yet which combo will Mao actually use in her program.

In an interview Mao said that her plan to attempt 3A and 3-3 here is fairly new and at the beginning of the season she wasn't sure she'd be able to land a 3-3 in her programs again. However, recently her jumps became more solid in practices. She doesn't think she's ready yet - she judges her 3A/3-3 to be about 60% ready - but she wants to attempt them here before she goes for them at Worlds.

Or a 2A 2A sequence. it's possible

It's possible for a lady skater to have 8 triples in her long program - but only if she has 3A and a 3-3. Basically, a lady skater can do 7 jumping passes, 3 of which can be combinations or sequences (one combo/seq can consist of 3 jumps) and she can repeat only 2 types of triples (the repeated triple must be in combination).

For example, let's imagine that a particularly talented lady lands:

3Lz-3T
3F-half loop-3S <-under current rules, this counts as a 3-jump combination and receives full base value)
3F
3Lz
3L
That's 7 triples already, and there's still 2 jumping passes left, including a combo! But what jumps would be actually allowed here? There are already 2 types of triple jumps repeated (Lutz and flip), so it can't be Lz, T, F, S, or L... Yeah, we have a problem. The only allowed triple would be 3A (probably attempted earlier in the program), and the remaining jumping pass would be filled with 2A in combo (or solo 2A and tack on the 2T or 2L elsewhere). A lady with no 3A could fill the remaining jumping passes only with 2A and 2A-2L (or 2A-2T).
Hope this helps.

It's allowed to use the same type of jump in a combo twice. So, for example, landing 3F-3T and 3F-2L-2L in the same LP would be just fine. Doing two solo triple flips, on the other hand, wouldn't be very smart, as the second one would be marked as +SEQ, receive 80% of base value, and use up one combo slot.

Thanks a lot, let's talk!
What I am love about Mao this season is she looks healthy and seems always happy to be on ice.
Just look at 0:57 in this vid clip how thin and fragile she appeared at last season's 4CC...

I am glad she plans to go for harder/aggressive jump layout here. Trial and error. A win or lose, falls or no falls, you can't get anything unless you go for it at all, you know. Mao may crash and burn at the end of the day. But still not the end of the world. Gooo Mao!

I wonder what her FS layout will be: if she wants to keep the 3Lo as the opening jump and the 3Lo+2Lo+2Lo combo, she needs a 3F+3T as the 3-3 combo, the same if she wants to do the loop as the solo jump in the SP (I don't think she's going to try the lutz in the SP!)...

If she's really going for a 3-3 and a 3A in the long her layout would probably be
3L
3A
3F-3T
3Lz
3S
3L-2L-2L
3F

Just a theoratical question regarding the jump layout: If Mao plans to do 8 triples but for example misses the 3a and instead doubles it in her performance, she would have to leave out another planned triple, right?

Just a theoratical question regarding the jump layout: If Mao plans to do 8 triples but for example misses the 3a and instead doubles it in her performance, she would have to leave out another planned triple, right?

OK sorry I was confused there. I thought she would zayak if she turned the 3a into a double but that is not the case, obviously.

No, Zayak rule means she can't repeat a triple/quad jump more than once(and one of them must be in combination) and she can repeat a maximum of 2 triple/quad jumps. Plus, at least one axel jump is mandatory in the Lp.(and maximum two 2A). If she had planned a 3A and two 2A in her programs than yes, doubling the 3A would have her doing three 2A which is against the rules that's not Mao's case.

According to fsu, Mao's layout is 3Lo, 3A, 3F-3Lo, 3Lz, 2A-3T, 3S, 3F-2Lo-2Lo. This is absolutely crazy and she probably will have some problems with the jumps but the prospect of landing them at some point is exciting! It's good she kept her 3Loop as an opening jump. This should quiet some critics IMO. She really tries to regain her old form. I'm not sure she's gonna make it but trying it proves once again she has the heart of a champion.

According to fsu, Mao's layout is 3Lo, 3A, 3F-3Lo, 3Lz, 2A-3T, 3S, 3F-2Lo-2Lo. This is absolutely crazy and she probably will have some problems with the jumps but the prospect of landing them at some point is exciting! It's good she kept her 3Loop as an opening jump. This should quiet some critics IMO. She really tries to regain her old form. I'm not sure she's gonna make it but trying it proves once again she has the heart of a champion.

OMG! When she was a jumping bean, she couldn't do 3F-3Lo and 2A-3T cleanly together. I'm afraid this is too ambitious. Kudo to her, though. This is insane. A great program + incredible TES = history.

According to fsu, Mao's layout is 3Lo, 3A, 3F-3Lo, 3Lz, 2A-3T, 3S, 3F-2Lo-2Lo. This is absolutely crazy and she probably will have some problems with the jumps but the prospect of landing them at some point is exciting! It's good she kept her 3Loop as an opening jump. This should quiet some critics IMO. She really tries to regain her old form. I'm not sure she's gonna make it but trying it proves once again she has the heart of a champion.

Apart from the opening triple Loop, every other jump element makes me nervous.

The 2A-3T replaces the Salchow (in her old layout), interesting how much choreo she will skip for the set-up